By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, Jan 5: The number of traffic police officers will be increased to help manage the traffic congestion caused by the construction of the Kuching-Samarahan Expressway traffic light intersections project.
Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas stated this today following a meeting with the Public Works Department (JKR) Sarawak, Kuching South City Council (MBKS), Kota Samarahan Municipal Council (MPKS), and police officers on site at roundabout no.4 near Sama Jaya Free Industrial Zone here.
“We are here today to make an assessment on the impact of the traffic caused by the ongoing construction works being done by the contractors.
“As you are all aware, our contractors are in the process of implementing this project and are determining what needs to be done to ensure that it is completed on time,” he said through a live streaming on MBKS Mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng’s social media.
While construction works are in progress, Uggah added some areas will be disrupted, which is one of the reasons why there has been extremely heavy traffic in the area over the past few days.
“Today, we decided and agreed that the traffic police will increase their number of men to assist in traffic management. They will be assisted by MBKS’ traffic wardens to ensure that traffic moves smoothly during this construction work (period).
“We are also looking at where the bottlenecks that will be created once this particular traffic light intersections are completed,” he explained.
Furthermore, Uggah pointed out that a monitoring team is stationed at the construction site to monitor what is going on every day and will respond to any issues that arise.
He also mentioned that the traffic light project on the Kuching-Samarahan Expressway will be completed by the end of this year.
“The rescued contractors who were appointed in June did a wonderful job, and we hope that the project will be completed on time.
“It is now our KPI (Key Performance Index) to ensure that all delayed projects are completed on time,” he emphasised.
Meanwhile, Wee noted that the traffic police will manage the traffic congestion from 6am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm.
Also present was MPKS chairman Dato Peter Minos. — DayakDaily
